Chapter Text
"Professor Weasley? You wanted to speak with me?"
The elderly woman looked up at the creak of the door, her warm eyes meeting her student's over the edge of her glasses.
"Miss Carter. Yes, please come in. Have a seat. Would you like some tea?"
Doing as told, she pulled the chair in front of her professor's desk, sitting down and shaking her head slowly.
"Er... No, Professor."
Weasley sighed, leaning back and folding her hands in her lap.
"Very well. To the point, then, as usual. How are you feeling, Marian?"
The unexpected usage of her first name didn't even startle her and she answered in a well-practiced, calm tone.
"I'm fine, Professor."
The older woman pursed her lips just slightly as her brows furrowed a little.
"Are you sure? You have just lost your mentor. And I have a feeling that Professor Fig was more than that for you. Losing a father figure is always hard, no matter the relation."
Marian ignored the stitch her older friend's name sent to her heart, responding again without hesitation.
"I'm fine."
Professor Weasley sighed, beginning to shuffle through one of the drawers on her desk.
"Alright... If you ever change your mind, Miss Carter... please let me know. Anyway, the main reason why I need to speak with you... is this."
Marian looked at the stack of parchment being placed in front of her. It was tied together with a brown string held together by a wax seal, bearing what she recognized as the crest of the Ministry of Magic.
"What is this?"
Weasley sighed again.
"You may read it. It's Professor Fig's last will. I received it yesterday, with an owl from the ministry."
She felt her hands start to tremble, fingers closing around the wrist of one hand, forcing down the shaking.
"What does this have to do with me?"
Maybe it was for the quiver in her student's voice, but Professor Weasley's tone grew a lot softer at her next words.
"Eleazar had no living relatives. Everything he owned was bequeathed to you."
It took Marian two tries to swallow down the lump in her throat, ultimately getting out just two words.
"Me... what?"
Weasley leaned forward, taking off her glasses and supporting her forehead with one hand, leaning on the desk while pinching the bridge of her nose with the other. Her voice was low at her next words and Marian felt a surge of compassion hit her when she realized that she wasn't the only one who had lost someone close.
"He had grown very fond of you throughout the year. It is hardly appropriate for a student and a teacher to form such a strong bond, but I suppose you are no ordinary student... I don't know what the two of you have been up to this year that led to the tragic events under the school grounds, and I have a feeling it's best if I don't know. Just know that Eleazar cared for you."
For a moment, she was tempted. Tempted to confess everything to that caring, kind woman in front of her. Next to Professor Fig, Professor Weasley had been supportive all along, even though they had been excluding her from their antics until the last second.
But her fingers tightened their grip on her wrist. She couldn't. Fig had known, he had helped her, he had cared for her. He had died for her. Marian wasn't going to let that happen again.
Even if it had to be her all alone against the rest of the world. She wouldn't be responsible for another life ending because of her, for someone else being hurt because of her.
She still could hear the snapping of George Osric's bones in her ears when the dragon had driven his fangs through his flesh and spine. She could still hear the odd thud of Lodgok's body hitting the ground after being flung against the iron pillar. She still could hear Natty's screams of sheer agony after having taken Harlow's curse for her.
Instead, she focused on the parchment in front of her. One step at a time.
"I can't accept this. It's inappropriate, as you stated rightly, Professor."
Weasley gave her a tired, knowing, sad smile.
"Oh, you don't have to accept it. But give it some consideration after taking a closer look."
With a questioning glance at her teacher, Marian finally leaned forward and picked up the stack of parchment, carefully breaking the seal and untying the strings.
It indeed was Fig's last will, her name inserted in the slot that read 'heir'. There was a long list of belongings he had bestowed to her, a thick letter sealed with more wax and another roll of parchment with the letters 'deed of ownership' at the top.
Marian stared at it, reading the words in disbelief.
"He... bought a house?"
Her teacher nodded.
"A cottage. I recall him telling me about it right after Christmas. He wouldn't tell me where it was, though... It is an assumption, but... I think he did this as a measure to protect you from harm's way, regarding the kind of misfortune you seemed to attract on a daily basis."
Marian blinked.
"Excuse me?"
Weasley picked up her glasses and put them back on, giving her that trademark-scholar look over the edge.
"Have you heard of the Fidelius Charm?"
She shook her head.
"No, Professor."
Weasley nodded slowly, explaining.
"It is a powerful spell that can protect anything, be it a person or a place or an object. As long as the secret keeper maintains his duty, the spell remains intact, only allowing those insight who he lets in on the secret. When Professor Fig-... when he passed, he took the secret of the cottage's location to rest forever. It cannot be found before a new keeper is appointed. Since the main purpose of the place is to protect you and keep you from any harm, it appears only logical that you become the new secret keeper."
Her head was spinning. She wasn't sure if she was following, but to her, it sounded like yet another task her mentor had bestowed her with. One he didn't even get to finish planning himself. So what if there was a place that could grant her shelter and protection?
The war was over, she didn't need it now. What she needed was her friend. Her mentor. But he had rather chosen to keep quiet about it. Suddenly, she felt betrayed. Betrayed for the time she didn't get to spend with him, the questions she didn't get to ask now. Betrayed by him for just leaving her, alone once again.
Angrily, she tossed Fig's letter onto the desk.
"He... never told me anything about it."
She couldn't keep the emotions out of her voice this time. Professor Weasley gave her a pitied look and pushed the sealed letter towards her again.
"That is why he left you with this. It has your name on it. I'm almost certain it contains information about the whereabouts of that cottage."
Marian stared at the letter, suddenly feeling the urge to rip it into shreds. To flip over the desk, break every single object in Weasley's office, run out, run away, leave it all behind and hide in a place where no one could ever find her.
Anger and fear came crashing down on her, giving her a feeling of density and trepidation, as if the walls were closing in on her slowly and all she could do was watch.
She had to get out. Now.
"I-... Professor, I can't..."
Her voice cracked and she broke off, dropping her head and staring at her lap. It was all too much and Weasley just wouldn't stop ranting, unbeknownst to the very foundations of her student falling apart right in front of her.
"This is nothing you have to decide right now. The decision is up to you. You still can return to the orphanage for the summer. There are ways to protect you there, if the need arises. But I don't see any reason why you shouldn't claim this heritage. You have proven more than enough how capable you are of taking care of yourself, and as long as you don't use magic during the summer holidays, you will be fine. I know that Professor Fig and you have kept secrets in order to protect us, but you no longer have to face whatever it is you're facing on your own. You're not alone, Miss Carter. Think it through, you still have some time left until the school year is over. If you have questions of any kind, please do not hesitate to ask them."
Marian only heard half of what her teacher said, the ringing in her ears taking over, slowly drowning out any other sound. When Weasley stopped talking, she gathered the parchment on the desk, nodding while hoping that was the expected reaction and getting up to leave.
"Thank you, Professor. Is that all?"
Weasley gave her another, rather piercing glance over the edge of her glasses before finally sighing deeply.
"Yes, Miss Carter, that is all. You may leave. Don't forget to study for your exams."
Marian nodded, already on her way out.
"Of course not, Professor."